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Saturday, 30 July 2011

Can you believe it's been 6 months since our first challenge? We can't!

We've said it before but our success is down to your support and we thank each and every one of you!

One little bit of housekeeping before we tell you about the challenge.
As from this week we have decided to delete any entries that don't comply with our rules.
No offence meant.

Ok, so we have our 'Lucky Dip' week as it's the fifth Saturday of July.

The challenge is

FEELINGFRUITY

We would like to see fruit on your cards or fruit colours...easy peasy 'lemon' squeezy!

We have great pleasure in welcoming the wonderful Ali as our guest designer for this week, she has been a dedicated LIMette since the very beginning has been so supportive of us and our challenges. She has created the most fabulous card for us. Thank you Ali.

The only fruit stamps are from Stampin Up Cheers to You! This is a great little set and extremely popular, I'm sure you've seen it lots!

I stamped the 2 cocktails, coloured as you can see, particularly picking out the fruit on each! Glittered the 'drink' for the large slice of lemon I punched a 1 3/4" circle and used one section from the Build a Blossom punch, both Stampin Up. I think it's quite good for a lemon slice! The cherry is a 3/4" circle punch, I made a small hole and added the cord for the stalk. The sentiment is computer generated. 'Happy' is Century Gothic and the' Birthday' is Cocktail Bubbly here

This is a simple card using a rather old freebie digi image from Whimsie Doodles, which I coloured with Copics and highlighted the strawberry by covering it with a liberal amount of Glossy Accents. I cut it out and mounted it on the yellow circle.

The sentiment was computer generated using Asha Outline and Amaretto fonts.

This is a card suitable for a chap!

An image from Stampin' Up's Studio Sketches, paired with a DP from Pink Petticoat which I lightly distressed with ink and added a few stamps from SU's French Foliage set.

Who would believe that we have been in existence for six glorious months. Here's to the next six... with your continued support!

I'm quite fond of using ribbons on cards... even CAS cards can still be embellished, as long as it is done sensitively and without too much ostentatiousness.

Here is my friend the teddy again from Indigo Blu. This time I have combined him with a sentiment from Studio G.

Today I thought I would share with you how I tied and attached the ribbon.

Here you see the bowmaker and the instructions for tying a bow.

I began by attaching a straight piece of ribbon on the backing paper and sticking it down at the back.

I then began to tie the bow as per the diagram.

The tricky bit comes when the flat piece of ribbon on the card has to be incorporated into the knot.

When the short end is brought from behind and up and over to the front,(manoeuvre D) I tilt to bowmaker towards me so that that end of the ribbon can come all the way forwards and around underneath the flat piece on the backing paper, going from front to back.

It is then slipped through the last piece of the bow loop (manoeuvre F) and both ends are pulled tight.

It's fiendishly difficult to explain but a whole lot easier to do.

The basic instructions came with my bowmaker when I bought it quite some time ago on eBay, but I worked out how to add it to a straight piece of ribbon by trial and error!

My second card is in primitive art style using a gingham stamp from Waltzing Mouse and heart stamp from SU. The buttons were made from a Die-namics die and coated with Glossy Accents. The ribbon was rescued from a gift and the sentiment, computer generated using Fabulous 50's font. I lengthened the spellbinders die-cut for this using the technique described here. Job done!

I have a few crafting pet hates! Two of them are ribbon stuck onto a card and trimmed at the edges or the ends trimmed with scissors that aren't sharp!

This was one of those cards that came together in a few minutes! I had a mental picture of the layout and placed a length of ribbon around the whole of the front of the card, sticking the ends with ds tape. I stuck the black panel next, then the embossed white panel. I tied a small piece of the same ribbon, pulled tight and held the lengths to be inline with the strip already in place, then trimmed to look like a bow. The flower is an old Anita's stamp I stamped in Stazon then lightly water coloured in a coral colour to match. The green gingham paper I think lifts the whole thing with a splash of colour.

My second card is pretty self explanatory I think. The chandelier is a digi from Kaboodle Doodles.
This ribbon knot I did slightly differently. I took a length of the polka dot ribbon and did the one end over the other, as you would to make a bow. Before pulling tight I slipped a small length through the loop, then pulled tight. I think this makes for a flatter 'bow' The ends are secured underneath the embossed panel.

Remember to keep things Clean and Simple and just because you're allowed to use embellishments, don't forget the white space!!!

Saturday, 16 July 2011

Is it just us, or are there rather more Clean and Simple and One Layer Card challenges finding their way into Challenge blogs here and there?

DO we have influence?

ARE things changing?

Very Interesting!

All we know is that we are delighted with YOUR response to our challenges and now it's time for a new one.

There were wonderful contributions last week and I'm sure that this week will prove just as popular.

We have a theme which this week is

CIRCLES

Please note that this is in the plural... we need to see more than one circle, so not just a circular card base or the odd circle thrown in just to qualify... we need you to think circles and see what you can come up with. Whilst you're thinking of your design however, we don't want you to forget thewhite space element and theCASfeel for your card.

When I got back from my holiday on Wednesday a little package from Mandi arrived for me which included this super piece of Stampin' Up designer paper. She knows I love these colours and really spoils me by giving me treats. I think this particular piece is wonderful and I built my card design around it.

The circular stamp is from Stampin' Up, Just Believe, stamped in Crumb Cake and Bashful Blue, punched out and mounted on Nesties.

The border is punched with a Martha Stewart border punch which is part of a Punch Around the Page set.

The sentiment is computer generated using One Fell Swoop and AL Fantasy Type.

This second card obviously uses the same paper but this time cut with a Nestie circle. I then made a border with the straight border punch, adapting it so that it would fit around edge.

The flowers are made with Marianne dies and rolled, but can be made from a circle and cut by hand into a spiral.

The leaves are from one Marianne die, cutting the die-cut into two pieces and arranging one piece in each direction.

The sentiment is from SU's Curly Cute set.

To make a straight border curved

Punch a length of paper with the border punch matching up the design as you go.

Cut off a strip of the paper leaving a small border 1cm or about .5 inch.

Snip at regular intervals, from the straight edge through to an aperture close to the patterned edge, leaving that edge intact.

Slightly overlapping the sections, stick the strip behind the curved edge you wish to decorate.

I need to apologise for my picture this week. My camera decided to run out of life [am recharging] so it isn't as vibrant as I'd have liked.

I started with a 6x6 white card base and punched 5 circles with my SU 1 3/8 circle punch. the papers are Pink Petticoat [Harlequin and Fairy Dots]

I placed the centre one first, then the outer ones, to ensure even placement. For my flower, this isn't my design, I'm sure all of you know how to make them, but in case there is anyone that doesn't I will explain briefly.

I punched 4 scalloped circles in a coral colour.

To give a bit of flexibility, it's best to crease them.

To do this, fold in half, crease, open out. Repeat this until you have 4 crease lines. Repeat for all 4 circles. Place them on top of each other and pierce a hole right through the centre of them all. Push a brad through and open the legs to secure the circles. Then the fun part. One by one pull the circles up into the centre brad, scrunching as you go. Repeat for all 4. Then you tweak them out slightly to the desired look. FAB aren't they! My brad is a lovely aqua colour, so I cut a daisy [Stampin Up die] and just used a small section, to tie in the aqua colour of the brad. The leaves are also die-cut with Crealies.

Saturday, 9 July 2011

It's Saturday once more and as usual our thanks for all your participation last week. you certainly seemed to enjoy 'Shades of Blue' we thoroughly enjoyed looking at them.
These ONE LAYER CARD challenges

seem to come around so quickly and here we are once more with another. Many LIMettes are now much more comfortable with this type of CAS card and each month we have some stunning contributions.

For our challenge today we would like to see

SOMETHING WITH LEGS

This should give you plenty of scope, but please don't forget that we still need to see areas of white space and minimal embellishments on your entries.

I masked the card with post-its and added the green, amethyst and blue inks with sponge daubers.

The tree (from Indigo Blu) was stamped twice, a second impression (I stamped on scrap first) over the masking and slightly to the right, then again with fresh ink once the mask had been removed.

When I first bought the stamp set it wasn't obvious what the tiny stamp was, but as you can see here quite clearly, it's a bird. That, together with the ones in the branches are the source of the legs in this card.

This second card also uses image stamps from Indigo Blu. I stamped this adorable teddy on scrap, and made a mask, then stamped him on the card and used the mask to add the music manuscript, apparently behind him. The tiny sentiment is a clear stamp from the Wild Rose Studio.

The legs for this card are implicit... you can't see any... but you know that a teddy wouldn't be a teddy without them, so in effect he is 'Something with legs'

For my first card I have chosen this FAB stamp, but, I have no idea whose it is! Maybe someone will?
I printed the Birthday wishes on the computer in Young Love font and then coloured with watercolour pencils.

My second card is one of my favourite stamps. It;s an old one by Anita;s i love this horse! Didn't do anything except a little grey watercolouring!

Hope you have fun with this one be as creative as you like!
Happy crafting and don't forget
"Less is More"

Wednesday, 6 July 2011

There were so many fabulous entries again for Sketch week our choice was extremely difficult.

We have come to a decision, however, you can see them below.

It is often mentioned that you don't know how we come to a decision for the showCASe entries.

Well as you know our eyes are naturally 'trained' to spot our requirements of white space, perfect placement, simplicity and clean lines. The ones we choose have a 'je ne sais quoi' a bit like the 'X Factor'!

i made a DL [double length] card and cut 6 strips of different blue card, embossed in different patterns and stuck to the bottom of the card. then added the rhinestone bling. [but here]

Sorry completely no skill, but, we have our cards all prepared well in advance and I suddenly realised at a very late hour I had missed this week!! Having said that, I'm not a inky finger get in a mess crafter, so prefer this type of card! I leave all the skill to my fabulous partner.....

OK, I felt bad to just submit that one, so made this. All using Stampin Up Products [but from me here]
Card base Night of Navy, Bird on a Branch stamp set in Night of Navy, the 'blossom' is stamped in Marina Mist. I added the tiny punched flowers and pearls, also using Not Quite Navy card too

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